Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC Has $7.14 Million Stock Position in Ashland Inc. $ASH

Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 48.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 141,974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 46,653 shares during the quarter. Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ashland were worth $7,138,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Abound Wealth Management bought a new stake in Ashland during the 2nd quarter worth about $40,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Ashland by 93.5% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,155 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 558 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 44.4% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Ashland by 2,440.4% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,321 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 1,269 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Ashland by 67.1% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,394 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Ashland from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Argus dropped their price objective on Ashland from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Ashland from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Ashland in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ashland from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ashland currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.13.

Ashland Trading Up 3.9%

NYSE ASH opened at $59.82 on Thursday. Ashland Inc. has a one year low of $45.21 and a one year high of $76.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 2.85 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market cap of $2.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $51.13 and its 200-day moving average is $51.63.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 9th. The basic materials company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $509.00 million during the quarter. Ashland had a positive return on equity of 7.07% and a negative net margin of 46.25%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.415 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is currently -9.05%.

About Ashland

Ashland Inc provides additives and specialty ingredients in the North and Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates through Life Sciences, Personal Care, Specialty Additives, and Intermediates segments. The Life Sciences segment offers pharmaceutical solutions, including controlled release polymers, disintegrants, tablet coatings, thickeners, solubilizers, and tablet binders; nutrition solutions, such as thickeners, stabilizers, emulsifiers, and additives; and nutraceutical solutions comprising products for weight management, joint comfort, stomach and intestinal health, sports nutrition, and general wellness, as well as custom formulation, toll processing, and particle engineering solutions.